New research suggests that roughly half of all people — including heterosexual women and men — could carry “gay genes.”

In layman’s terms, this means so-called “gay genes” are continuously passed down through the generations in spite of the fact that homosexuals are still relatively unlikely to have children.

The research suggests that gay men’s sisters tend to have more children, which may help explain how homosexuality persists in larger populations.

Meanwhile, heterosexual men could also carry genes predisposing them to being gay.

The study was conducted by Giorgi Chaladze of Ilia State University, based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

In order to gather his research, Chaladze utilized a computational model to examine how genes and heredity influence homosexuality, closely monitoring its existence throughout human history and through every culture.

He wanted to discover why genes commonly tied to homosexuality haven’t died out, especially since heterosexual men have five times more kids than homosexual men.

Earlier research that found gay men are more likely to come from larger families figured into his research, which was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

To sum up, Chaladze’s research suggests that male homosexuality survives in at “low and stable frequencies,” provided that half the men and more than half the women are carrying the genes that predispose men to homosexuality.